Chapter 63

Alexa and I paused for a moment, bewildered by her question. This girl really was dumber than a box of rocks.

“I- yes, sweetie,” Alexa said. “My sister is Alex’s mother. I’m Alex’s aunt.”

Jeanie’s eyes widened in confusion for a moment as she tried to process what Alexa was saying. She screwed up her face for a second and then exhaled.

“Oh, I get it,” she said finally before looking at me. “You’re adopted?”

“No,” I said slowly, trying not to sound exasperated while Alexa’s eyes clouded over with tears of laughter. “Alexa is my aunt. She is just much younger than my mother, your professor. We’re the same age.”

“Oh.” Jeanie said, trying to figure that out. “Oh, wow.”

She looked at the two of us. “That’s kinda hot, actually.”

I pinched my eyes.

Jeanie clapped her hands together once. “Well, I gotta go, but I couldn’t get on with my day without seeing you once Mr de Bourne mentioned what happened. So, you’re sure you’re gonna be alright for our playdate next week?”

Alexa nodded. “They’ll let me out of here tomorrow night with a clean bill of health, I promise I’ll be fine, sweetie.”

“Good!” Jeanie said brightly. “Okay, gotta bounce! Lates!”

She started to exit the room before pausing and then scurrying over to Alexa and giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek. She then made her way to the door and paused once more. She turned around, went up to my aunt and put her arms around her, kissing her on the mouth, rather deeply. She moaned through the langorous kiss and I’m pretty sure slipped Alexa the tongue.

“Much better…” she said as she stood up and then swished out of the room, leaving my aunt and I staring after her. We said nothing for several seconds before Alexa sat back and sighed loudly, looking at the ceiling.

“Guess we know what kind of playdate I’m in for.”

“Could be worse,” I chuckled. “She’s about as smart as a bag of hammers, so she’s gotta be great in the sack.”

Alexa gave me a look. “I thought you said I was great in the sack.”

“Don’t you try and turn this around on me,” I said, holding up a finger. “I just meant she’s an idiot so being good at fucking is all she’s got. You’re the most incredible person I’ve ever met, you’re intelligent, you’re kind, you’re beautiful, you’re a sex goddess…”

“Oh, don’t stop, go on please,” Alexa said, turning on her side and smiling. “I could use some good news today.”

I sighed grumpily. “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news for you. Good news, I am very, very in love with you. Bad news, you’re my aunt and I can’t be with you the way I want to be.”

“I know,” she said quietly, her eyes said. “It sucks. It’s so beyond unfair. Alex, this may sound dumb, but… would it, would it not hurt as much if I just dated girls?”

I thought about what she was saying. If she dated girls, I didn’t really have anything to be jealous of. It was a service I couldn’t provide. I don’t know if it actually solved anything for me, but if it helped Alexa feel like she was sparing my feelings, why would I deny her that?

“Okay,” I said finally, shrugging. “As long as I don’t have to date guys to make you feel better.”

She giggled. “I somehow doubt the thought of you having super happy bum-fun with boys will make me feel better, although I’m willing to bet that picturing me scissoring with a hot girl will be good for you…”

We were silent for a while again.

“Alex, can you please close the door again?” she asked quietly. “Because I… I really want to kiss you…”

I got up and closed the door quietly, putting a sign on the front indicating she was sleeping. I then came back to the bed and she sat up, tucking her feet under her. I sat on the bed next to her and she stared deep into my eyes, caressing my cheeks. Her own beautiful sapphire eyes were crystalline with tears.

“I can’t believe how quickly I fell for you,” she whispered. “I had no control over it and I didn’t even try to fight it, I was so confused. And now I know I love you and you’re perfect for me and I’m forced to give you up… and I don’t know how…”

She leaned in and kissed me lovingly, trying not to cry as she did so. I could feel the tears on her cheeks, her skin against mine. I held her and kissed her back, letting her feel everything I had in me, showing her exactly what she meant to me.

“I love you, Alex,” she choked through the kiss. “I’m so in love with you. Damn you for being my nephew…”

“I love you too, Alexa,” I murmured back. “I love you so much and I don’t want to give you up.”

The kiss ended, for the moment, and she pressed her forehead to mine, still caressing my face as she tried to compose herself. “It’s so stupid,” she whispered. “All this confusion I’m feeling, and fear about everything, and the one thing I’m absolutely certain of is my love for you, which is the problem everyone else would have. It’s the only part of all this that feels right, like it’s supposed to be or meant to be. It’s everything else that’s fucked up. At least, that’s how it feels.”

I said nothing, just holding her and thinking about how cheated we both felt. Finally, I posed a question I was inexplicably terrified to ask.

“What if… what if we just faked dating?”

She looked at me for several moments, wiping her eyes. “Fake date?”

I nodded. “Go out on dates with other people, y’know, people we’re pretty sure we have no interest in, except for maybe fucking them for the sake of something physical. But then we’ll still be seeing one another behind the scenes. If we’re careful, mom and dad won’t suspect, because they’ll see us dating other people.”

She thought about what I was saying for a few moments. “We could… we could still be together, at least for a while.”

I nodded. “I don’t think it solves our ultimate problem at all, but at least we’d have more time together.”

“Yes,” she said, looking at my face and touching my lips with her fingers. “And it might make parting even harder than it is right now. I don’t know if I could be that strong. But… well, I don’t know if I’m strong enough to give you up even now. I sure as hell don’t want to.”

She sighed and sat back in her bed, her eyes distant. “I don’t know. Inevitably we’ll be forced apart, no matter how in love we are. I couldn’t do that to Karen. But the thought of being without you, Alex, I…”